Delivery system for high melting point oils in a tank

ABSTRACT

An oil delivery system wherein, in order to effect the discharge of solidified or semi-solidified oil remaining in a tank after primary delivery of the bulk of the oil therefrom, a nozzle is inserted in the free space within the tank, oil of the same kind as the oil in the primary delivery is heated and directed through the nozzle onto the residual oil, which is thereby melted, and rendered easily movable.

United States Patent 1191 1111 3,874,399 Ishihara [4 Apr. 1, 1975DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR HIGH MELTING 1,978,015 10/1934 Erdman 134/24 POINTOILS IN A TANK 2,415,729 2/l947 Dana 134/5 X [75] Inventor: KoichiIshihara, Osaka, Japan v [73] Assignee: Fuji Oil Company, Limited,Osaka, Primary EXaminerAlan Cohan Japan Attorney, Agent, orFirm-=Wenderoth, Lind & Ponack [22] Filed: June 29, 1973 [21] Appl. No.:374,890

. [57] ABSTRACT [30] Foreign Application Priority Data July 3, 1972Japan 47-66541 An oil delivery System wherein, in Order to effect thedischarge of solidified or semi-solidified oil remaining 52 11.5. C1137/13, 137/15, 137/571, in a tank eftet P t delivety ef the bulk of the137/334 7 5 134/5, 134/24, 7 3 therefrom, a nozzle is inserted in thefree space within [51 1111. C1 B08b 3/10 the tank, eil the Same kind asthe Oil in the primary Fi ld f S h 137/1 13 15 5 3 57 delivery is heatedand directed through the nozzle 137/341, 334, 339; 134/5, 24 8 onto theresidual oil, which is thereby melted, and rendered easily movable.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures[06,740 5/l93l Butterworth 134/24 t PATENIEBA 1 I915 FIG.

FIG. 2

l DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR HIGH MELTING POINT ()lLS IN A TANK The presentinvention relates to an oil deliverry sys tem for oils having a highmelting, and more particu larly to an oil delivery system for thedischarge of solidified or semi-solidified oil, which is ofspccialadvantage in secondary. or final evacuation of high melting point oils.or similar substances, held in a solidified, or semisolidified state ina tank. and wherein a nozzle, or nozzles are inserted into a tank, orsimilar container holding residual, solidified or semi-solidified oilwhich it is desired to discharge, and oil that has been previouslydischarged from the tank, or the same type of oil from another source,is projected through the nozzle, or nozzles onto the residual oil.whereby the residual oil is melted and made easily removable from thetank.

Bulk transport of oil is normally effected by ships that are equippedwith suitable tanks, and oil is generally delivered therefrom by beingpumped out. When oil in a tank is solidified or semi-solidified, as isoften the case with beef tallow. coconut oil, or highly viscous mineraloils. it is general practice to first melt the oil by means of a heaterprovided in the tank. and then pump the oil out. However. this method ofdelivering solidified or semi-solidified oil is only effective formammoth tankers, or similar large vessels with double bottoms, and isnot feasible for coastal vessels used for oil transport, which aremostly single-bottomed. When oil is piped from these smaller vessels, atconsiderable amount of oil. which has'been cooled by the surroundingwater, remains solidified in the tank especially on the bottom of thetank and the sides of the tank between the bottom and the water-line,and the only way this residual oil can be removed is by buckets,shovels, and manual labour. This method of removal of residual oil isobviously undesirable from the point of view of health of personsemployed in this task, since the work is rendered arduous by the factthat the internal contour of the oil tank, that is, the ship's hold,comprises many projections. and since the inside of the tank ismalodorous and hot. Also, the method has considerable administrative andeconomic disadvantages, since it is not alvvays easy to assemble therequired labour force, and labour costs of a force assembled for thispurpose are disproportionately high compared with labour costs of normalstaff. Another disadvantage and undesirable feature of this conventionalmethod is that it is extremely difficult to effect removal of theentiretry of the residu'al oil, and even after manual cleaning of thetank. there is still some oil left, which is discharged into the seaafter final washing ofthe tank, thus contributing to environmentalpollution.

Furthermore, in relation to oil delivery, it is also to be noted thatthere have been known many inventive systems for cleaning the oil tanksof tankers or bulk cargo vessels which essentially involve spraying theinsides of tanks with sea water, cleaning water, superheated steam, ortreated oil. In the employment of these conventional systems, secondaryunloading (that is. discharge of residual oil left in a tank afterprimary unloading of'the bulk of the oil) is generally not effected, butthe residual oil is washed out during the cleaning process and ejectedinto the sea. Even though this residual oil is only a certain fractionofthe total oil held in a tank, it neverthelessrepresents anunjustifiable waste and economic loss, and an intolerable pollution ofthe sea. I

A solution to this problem has become more and more urgent in view ofthe increased concentration of industry on the sea-board and the dailyincrease in oil requirements.

. This problem is not of course limited to sea-transport of oil, but isalso present with regards to inland transport and storage of oil. g

It is accordingly an object of the present inventionto provide an oildelivery system offering economical, rapid, and total evacuation of oilfrom a bulk storage or transport tank, or similar container and deliverythereof to another container.

lt is a further object of the invention to provide an oil deliverysystem that, unlike conventional systems, does not demand recourse tomanual labour for the removal of residual oil in a tank. a I

Another object of the invention is to eliminate a factor ofenvironmental pollution that is conventionally inherent in oilingstations. v V

A still further object of the invention istQ provide an oil deliverysystem wherein only the oil it is desired to dischage and obtain forlater use is evacuated from a tank and wherein the employment of seawater. washing water, treated oil, or similar substances is notrequired, thereby rendering unnecessary both the expenditure ofexcessive energy and the separation of theoil it is desired to dischargefrom sea water, washingiwater; or treated oil.

Yet another object of the invention is to present an oil delivery systemthat offers particular advantages relating to sea-board industrieshavinga centralized coritrol system of mass-production. i

A still further object of the invention is to provide an oil deliverysystem of simplified design.

ln achieveing these and other objects there is provided according to thepresent invention an oil delivery system wherein, in order to effect thedischargeof solidified or semi-solidified oil remaining in a tank afterprimary delivery ofthe bulk of the oil therefrom, a nozzle, or nozzlesare insertedin the free space within the tank, a certain portion of theoil previously discharged in the primary delivery, or oil of the samekind, but from another source, is heated and directed through the nozzleor nozzles onto the residual oil, which is thereby melted, and renderedeasily removable. The system of the present invention offers advantagesin that the residual heat of previously discharged oilmay be used toeffect the removal of residual oil in a tank, that there is no waste ofoil, since a tank may be perfectly emptied, and that no extra labourforce is required.

Types of oil, for the delivery of which the system of the presentinvention finds application, are such oils as become solidified orsemi-solidified. go into a jelly-like condition, or exhibit highlyviscous flow characteristies, at ambient temperatures around an oiltank, that is, ambient air temperature, or water temperature. whicheveris lower. Example of such oils, or oily substances, are the animal orvegetable fats or oils such as beef tallow (melting point 35-5()C), porklard (melting point 2848C) palm oil (melting point 27-5()C), palm kcrnaloil (melting point 25-30C), coconut oil (melting point 2(l28C), orhardened oils or fractionated oils whose melting point temperatures liein a similar range. Among the mineral oils, for which the system 3 ofthcinvention is particularly useful, there may-be cited high -viscos itycrude oils; heavy oils, vaselines, etc. The system is not ofcourscalimitcd to'applicati'on for the delivery of oil,- but may also beused for other non-oily substances possessing' high viscosity and liableto form sludges. such as black-strap -molasses. Nozzles employed for theprojection of oil in the system of the present invention are not limitedto being any special type, but should preferably have good heat andpressure resistance characteristics. As examples of nozzles that may beemployed, there can be cited'nozzles as used in known oil tankcleaning-means such as the Butterworth'Tank Cleaning Machine Toko Mini-Jet Washer, Victor Pyrate Automatic Tank Washer, Maersk-Clean, ToftejorgTank Cleaning Machine, or

Cu'pper Nozzle, all of which are trade names of products ayailahlecommercially. A cleaning means such as cited above and having eitherfixed or portable nozzle portions is provided in a tank, in the vicinityof the tank, or on a jetty. or other'unloading point. it is particularlyadvantageous. but not essential, to mount the cleaning means on a jetty,and to provide portable nozzles, so that any number of vessels may bedcalt with from the same point. Also. if the nozzle portions providedare rotatable eccentric nozzle type com prising two or more nozzlesinclined in different directions, there is not ced to provide a specialsupport rod, or"simil ar means, for positioning the nozzles in a tank,but the'nozzles may simply b e suspended freely inside the tank. andh'catedoil projected therefromcvenly melts the residual oil. The mostsuitable number of nozzles for. melting residual oil in a tank depends,of course. on the size of the tank. Also. it is evident that the use ofrotatable. eccentric nozzles is not essential to thc system of thepresent invention, for it islcqually possible to c1nploy,for example,fixed nozzles directed vertically downwards.

' 550F111; variation in temperature to which oil for melting residualoilis heated, depending on the typesofoilandon, ambient conditions. For theabovec'ited fats and oils like beef tallow and pork lard. a suitabletemperature is generally 7() 9()C. The temperatttreselected shouldbe onewhich is economically attained saffici ently lowers the viscosity of theoil, and which has ,beenseleeted after consideration of possibledeteriorationofthe. characteristics of the oil, and. .of' course, safetyfactors. especially in the ease of low flash-point oils. I

{According to the systemotthe present invention, nozzles for theejection of heated oil are provided on a normal 'tankfir, or similarvessel. from which oil is to be delivered. A storage. tank. pumps, aheaterLor heaters. strainers. and other conventional items of equipmentare provided at the oiling station to which the oil s and storagetankson lahd may he equippcdas required with filters. straihfers'fet" fortheelimination of undesirable matter from the pipe'doil. Also. a heaterand pump, for heating and pumping oil fo r meltinglresiduaL'i'hay beprovided lon'ay "'selinsteatl of-on-larid. and only astorage 'tank'provided" o'h la'na, ll 'it' is not possible, :(flf lS' diffiCtllt fortankrsftoappr'oach oranch'or near an oiling ation, there may bep'rovidedbarges equipped with' heaters and intermediate"storagetanks for relayingoil front-tankers to s torag'etanks on land ln all cases, attentionshould be given-to the preve'ntion of heat losses by the provision ofadcquate'piping insulation in the form'of asbestos or other suit'ablematerial. There shouldalso be equipment such as suitably located oilgages to make it possible to measure and compare the qu antities pumpedout from a tanker, pipedto a storage tank. and piped back to the tanker.

Preferred embodiment of the present-invention will now be dcscribed.-byway of example.- with reference to the attached drawings; in which;

FIG. 1 isa-schematic diagram showing connection of components employediii an oil delivery system accordis tobe delivered,.and the equipme'ntis linked by'suitable piping ln the sintplcstarrangement. the" bulk ofthe oiltronta tanker is pipcdto a storage tank Em land. and then aportion of this delivered oil is heated and l'orceifedback through pipesconnecting to nozzles pro-1 vided inftheships. hold as described above.The oilis then directed onto andmelts the residual oil, and the whole.that is. the residual oil and the oil thathas'been fed hackzis pumpedout by the ships'pumps to the stor age tank on land. Alternatively, theoil pumped outin; the secondary delivery (the residual oil and a portihnof theprimary delivery oil) may be supplied to a secon'tlf storage tankon -land. Also.- the piping between ships" ing onc embodiment of "thepresent invention,

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view, onan enlarged scale, showing a portionof FIG. Land 5 t FIG. 3 is a similar view of FIG. 1.-but showing anotherembodiment of the present invention. v Before describing the specificembodiments of the present invention, it is to be noted that like partsare: designated by like" reference numerals throughou'tthe several viewsof the accompanying drawings: It is also to be noted that the concept ofthe? applica tion as well as the application canalso bc applied toany'fluid delivery systemother than ship's oil tankrforiexample. to oil firmon land or the like. i Referring nowto' FlGS. l and 2. there-areprovided a first storage tank 10 provided-on-land 1.."aships oil tank 11equipped in a vessel Son seaandascc'ond storage tank' 12 provided onland Liln the-free space within. both the lst'storage tank 10 and ship'soil tank 1.1 thereare suspendedwith hoses 14, 14 jet-eleancr nozzles 13.13 of the cceentricdouble nozzle type'which arefrcely rotating by'meansof pressured oil supplied through the hoses 14.14for.directing'pre-heatedmil upon; residual solidified or.semi-solidified oil. in thetanks 11 t -1.2..The hoses 14. 14 arerespectively connected withpipes15. 15 which meet at ajunction.connected-to. a supplying pipe 16. which leads to the lower portionof-the second storage tank. 12. and in which is. Pl'OVll-lfld'pi} supplypump. 17. a prekheater 1.8 and a check valv.e"1{9 The. i n-,termediateportion ofeaeh hose 14 is. as'shownin FIG. 2. suspendeddetachably ona disc hanger20 of a saddle 21 provided movably-ontheuppendcek of vesselSon on the ceiling oftank 1-0 while thepumplTandheater 18 are providedon land L. The-hanger.ZQwith-hQS 1 isirotatedon-occaslonnby a motor M protiidctl o l fi 10., 1 l to melt oil, asprovided-ma ltxmyentionalsystcn of this kind. The; suction pipe.22.o f.the ship o l tank '11 is connected with. a delivery pump 24=prs ll d9df1, the low. dee'k otiv ssel Sand; thcn with-a flex b P1P? 5 'whtchl a't ann x.pirtionat hes en?. 5 age tank l2. through ayeheck valve zifiewhile the other suction pipe 22 ofthe first storage tank I0 isconnected with a delivery pump 24 provided on land L and, then, with theflexible pipe 25. Between the delivery pumps 24 and the check valve 26,the flexible pipe 25 is connected through a pipe 27 having a check valve28 to the supplying pipe 16 desposed between the supplying pump 17 andthe check valve 16.

The arrangement so far described is operated such that, when the valves19, 26 are opened but the other valve 28 is closed, and the pumps 17. 24and pre-heater 18 are driven, oil from the second storage tank 12 ispumped through the pipe 16 by the supply pump 17, h ated by thepre-heater l8, and supplied through the pipes l5. 14 to the nozzles 13.from which it is sprayed onto residual oil in the first storage tank andship's oil tank II. The residual oil is thereby melted, andtogether withthe oil sprayed thereon by the nozzles 13., is pumped out by thedelivery pump 24 through the pipes 22, 25 to the second storage tank 12.On the other hand. when the valves 19, 26 are closed and the valve 28 isopened, oil being pumped out from both the first storage tank 10 andships oil tank 11 by the delivery pumps 22 is recirculated through thepipes 22, 25, 28. l6. l5, l4, supply pump 17 and pre-heater 18 to thenozzles 13 in the tanks 10, ll, thus resulting in greater efficiency inthe recirculation of relatively high temperature oil. With reference totemperatures'and pressures for different oils or fats delivered by thesystem abovementioned, in case of beef tallow, for example, the internaltemperature of the second storage tank 12 is suitably 60C, the supplypump 17 pumps at a pressure of 10 kg/cm and the pre-heater l8 raises thetemperature of the tallow to 85C.

H0. '3 shows another embodiment of the present invention in which thefirst storage tank 10 of the previous embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2is provided in the vessel S having the first oil tank lla and a secondoil tank 11h. thereby to obtain a system for effecting simultaneousprimary and secondary deliveries of oil from a plurality of vessels orfrom a plurality of tanks in one vessel. In HO. 3 there is shown atanker S and two separate oil tanks llu, llh therein. It is supposedthat the bulk ofthe oil in tank 11/; is still to be delivered by a pump24a, and that primary delivery of the oil in tank I la has beeneffected, but that secondary delivery of residual oil therein is stillto be effected. In this embodiment the piping, valves and otherequipment are the same as described in reference to FIG. 1, except thatthere is only one jet cleaner nozzle 13., which is suspended in the tankIla, above the residual oil therein, and so the two pipes l5, 15 areunnecessary.

ing in a tank.

The present invention has been fully disclosed by way of the preferredembodiments thereof. However, it is to be noted that various changes andmodifications thereof are apparent to those skilled in the art from theforegoing description with or without reference to the accompanyingdrawings. Therefore, these and other changes and modifications should beconstrued as included within the scope of the present invention unlessotherwise departing therefrom.

What is claimed is:

1. A system for removing melted and unmclted high melting point oilsfrom a first tank comprising,

removal means for removing melted high melting point oil in the firsttank,

storage tank means having a capacity at least equivalent to said firsttank, connected to said removal means for receiving said melted oildelivered by said removal means from the first tank, nozzle meansinserted into an open space within said first tank above any unmcltedhigh melting point oil in said first tank for directing oil underpressure onto residual unmclted oil in said first tank, and I supplymeans connected between the storage tank means and the nozzle means,said supply means comprising a pump and a heater for heating oil to atemperature such that the residual unmclted oil remaining in the firsttank is melted by the heated oil directed through said nozzle means,whereby the high melting point oil in the first tank is melted so as tobe removed by the removal means.

2. A system as claimed in claim I in which is provided distributionmeans for directing the oil removed from the first tank by the removalmeans to either the storage mcans or to the supply means without firstgoing into the storage means.

3. A method for removing high melting point oils contained in a tankcomprising the step of providing a portion of the same type of oil as isto be removed and which is at such a temperature that it will meltunmclted oil remaining in the tank,

the step of directing said heated oil under pressure onto residualunmclted oil remaining in the tank, whereby the unmclted oil remainingin the tank is melted, and

the step of removing melted oil from the tank, and

continuously repeating said steps until the unmelted residual oil in thetank is wholly melted and removed from the tank.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3 in which the step of providing aportion of oil the same as the type of unmelted oil to be removedcomprises obtaining said portion from a source of supply and heatingsaid portion to such a temperature that it will melt the unmclted oilremaining in the tank.

5. A method as claimed in claim 3 in which the step ofproviding aportion of oil the same as the type of unmclted oil to be removedcomprises using the melted oil removed from the tank in the removingstep either mixed or unmixed with oil from a source of supply.

1. A system for removing melted and unmelted high melting point oilsfrom a first tank comprising, removal means for removing melted highmelting point oil in the first tank, storage tank means having acapacity at least equivalent to said first tank, connected to saidremoval means for receiving said melted oil delivered by said removalmeans from the first tank, nozzle means inserted into an open spacewithin said first tank above any unmelted high melting point oil in saidfirst tank for directing oil under pressure onto residual unmelted oilin said first tank, and supply means connected between the storage tankmeans and the nozzle means, said supply means comprising a pump and aheater for heating oil to a temperature such that the residual unmeltedoil remaining in the first tank is melted by the heated oil directedthrough said nozzle means, whereby the high melting point oil in thefirst tank is melted so as to be removed by the removal means.
 2. Asystem as claimed in claim 1 in which is provided distribution means fordirecting the oil removed from the first tank by the removal means toeither the storage means or to the supply means without first going intothe storage means.
 3. A method for removing high melting point oilscontained in a tank comprising the step of providing a portion of thesame type of oil as is to be removed and which is at such a temperaturethat it will melt unmelted oil remaining in the tank, the step ofdirecting said heated oil under pressure onto residual unmelted oilremaining in the tank, whereby the unmelted oil remaining in the tank ismelted, and the step of removing melted oil from the tank, andcontinuously repeating said steps until the unmelted residual oil in thetank is wholly melted and removed from the tank.
 4. A method as claimedin claim 3 in which the step of providing a portion of oil the same asthe type of unmelted oil to be removed comprises obtaining said portionfrom a source of supply and heating said portion to such a temperaturethat it will melt the unmelted oil remaining in the tank.
 5. A method asclaimed in claim 3 in which the step of providing a portion of oil thesame as the type of unmelted oil to be removed comprises using themelted oil removed from the tank in the removing step either mixed orunmixed with oil from a source of supply.